Chapter Six- Daddy

The church was open and ready for the evening viewing and service. Soon it would all be over, Sandy assured Jesslyn. She was disappointed when she arrived and saddened that no one had shown up for her mom. She was already in tears and finding the church completely empty of anyone, not even a co-worker, brought her to a full on crying fit.

"Jess, the family arrives first, before anyone else. People will come. People loved mom, ok." Jay put his arm around her and walked her to the first pew where he sat and held her with an arm around her. She was emotionally spent and tired of crying.

"But what if no one comes, Jay? What if no one cared about her?"

"Jess, don't be silly. Where do you think all these flowers came from?"

Jay spent a half hour cajoling the girl back to normal, wondering all the while how this became his job. He did it without question and they toured the flowers and they walked around the church and looked at the colorful array of sunflowers and roses and carnations and lilies. The place smelled amazing for sure. Those who had arrived with Jesslyn sat in the first row and were stoically quiet. None had anything to say and watched as Jay toured her around the flowers till they arrived at the egg itself on a small pedestal where Jess started crying all over again.

The pastor made his way in and took over Jay's role and spoke with her as Sandy joined them. Jay returned to the pew and sat beside Julia just as emotional as Jess. His red, teary eyes made her a little uncomfortable, but she took a page out of his book and put an arm around him. She recalled losing her mother, the tears that followed. 

All the sadness was near suffocating and she wasn't sure if it was just her or whether any of them felt uncomfortable in the church for the viewing. There was not much to view after all. There was no body, just an egg. Two hours for a viewing was pretty standard and then about 45 minutes to an hour for the service. Sandy was right, it would all be over soon. Jess needed the support and being that she had no other family, they all needed to stay firmly planted in their rows and grow roots if necessary. No one likes a funeral. No one likes dealing with loss. No one likes death, natural or unnatural. 

The people started showing up a short time later, which relieved some of Jesslyn's fears of having an empty church. The church soon filled to capacity and then some, making the aisles to the left and right of the place standing room only. Jess was scared and standing up there all by herself as each person walked through and said their condolences and offered their sympathies. Co-workers, kids with parents who interacted with Louann on a daily basis, the seniors from the senior center where Louann volunteered two nights a week.

As the seniors entered with walkers and canes, Julia cleared her row of able bodied individuals and made room for the seniors. "We should get up and move." She suggested  then directed each old person to the front row after they spoke with Jesslyn. Fellow church members and then the families of the other fourteen lost also made an appearance and they shared some more grief. Last in line in the procession of sympathizers as Julia called them, was a man that Jesslyn recoiled from. She had such a negative reaction she damn near knocked the egg off the pedestal. She squealed when he extended his hand to her.

"Who's that?" Julia whispered over her shoulder to anyone that was listening.

"Shit, if I know." Chess muttered, pushing past Julia and making his way to the egg urn that the elderly woman from the senior center caught with her still youthful reflexes. She set the egg right and moved on to the row as Chess intervened with baby mama and the man that obviously frightened her.

"I only want to offer my sympathy and say I am sorry, Jesslyn." The man was in his forties, graying on the edges, balding on top. He wore a clean and proper blue suit. Tall and thin, he appeared older than he was and he held his hand out toward her.

"Jess, you Ok? What's up?" Chess asked her.

"Go away." She said through a broken and hoarse voice.

Chess looked to him, had no idea who he actually was, but Jess told him to leave. "She would like you to leave." Chess stated firmly, moving Jess away from the guy and avoiding the pedestal and egg.

"I'm staying at the motel 6, Jesslyn. I would like to see you and maybe talk before I go back home. You're 18 now and-"

"Leave me alone." She whined and whimpered at the same time and it was not a pleasant tone to her voice. He entire body shook in front of him. Jesslyn started crying again and her body moved more behind Chess than to his side.

"Room 12." He stated before he nodded and turned.

"What's up?" Jody asked making his way up there with Chess and Jess. His eyes followed the man down the aisle.

"Make sure he leaves, Mayers. Please. Like off the premises."

"Yeah, sure." He nodded, moving in the direction of the gentleman that had Jesslyn so shaken up.

"Jess, who is he?"

"My dad." She answered as he wiped the tears away from her reddened cheeks. He'd never seen Jess so shaken up and she was already shaken because of the loss of her mother. Her dad's presence took it to a whole new level.

"It's ok. He's gone now."

Chess could feel the rage boiling beneath his skin, but held it in check. Motel 6, room 12. Chess very clearly heard that information. The pastor approached them, indicating it was time to start the service and Chess ushered Jesslyn to the pew in the front. Chess sat her next to the elderly man and as he turned to walk away, the elderly man next to her made room and indicated he should sit. So he sat with Jess through an agonizing 45 minute memorial that was very personal on the part of this pastor. He knew Louann very well and it was a tasteful oratory on Louann as a community member, mother, co-worker, volunteer and friend. Jess held herself together through that, admitting later that her father's presence gave her a bunch of other reasons to cry. She hadn't seen him since she was a child. She was not allowed to see him. He was not allowed by law anywhere near a child, including his own.

"What if he wants to see our child, Chess?"

"He will not." Chess said quietly as he walked her to the truck. "Hop in, Jesslyn. I'll be back in a minute." He left the truck running and put the AC on for her as she sat crying and sad and now nervous and scared on top of everything else. She held her egg and cried as Chess found Julia.

"Who was the guy?" Julia asked as he approached her and Jayson.

"It was her dad."

"Shit." Jay mumbled. "She alright?" He asked looking toward the truck where Jess sat with her egg. She had set it on the dash board as far as Jay could see.

"What do you think?" Chess asked angrily. "Motel 6, room 12."

"We doing this tonight?" Julia asked Chess, feeling the strong desire to mutilate a man's human body.

"Wait, what?" Jay was already plotting his moral argument, then thought better of it. They stared and glared at him as if he even had to ask what the plan was for Mr Gilligan.

"Yeah, tonight." Chess nodded. "I'm hungry. Can we go eat?"

"I can afford a slice of fucking pizza to split between the two of us." Jay added, looking at Julia. "She got me fired."

"I can't believe they fired you for that." Julia smiled, taking his hand. "Thanks for going though."

"Oh, I'm sure there's more zoms somewhere. We could go smash some skulls another time."

"Yes, get in. We should talk about that." Chess said, poking his head out the window.

"Where we heading, Chess?" Kelly asked. "Please. I don't get to go out without Tarin like ever." She said, standing below his door and waiting for an answer.

"You can go, Kell." Chess told her as he climbed in the truck. "Bangers." Chess joked.

"Um, that's a strip bar anyway. But that sounds fun." Julia said, emphasis on fun.

"O'Flannery's then?" Chess asked, which was more restaurant bar.

"Oh, I like their chicken alfredo." Jess said, wiping her face with a tissue. She smiled for the first time that day.

"Ok, then that's where we go."

"Oh, can we go to Bangers one night? You know before the end of the world?"

No one answered and she was excited that may be a maybe. "Oh, guys, strippers." Julia said enthusiastically. "Alcohol and half naked ladies on poles and games and-"

"I'll go with you." Jody offered. "That does sound like a good time."

"Oh, Jody, have you ever been? It's just like risk without the guns." She told him as she shifted onto Jay's lap, making room for Tavin and Kelly in the cab with them.

"That was like the best night of my life." Jody told her with a grin.

"Oh. Bangers is just as good. A good time."

O'Flannery's seated them within 15 minutes. Once everyone was settled with menus and ordered drinks, Chess mentioned how there were unemployed people at the table. He launched into a fifteen minute speech about his business idea. The family business could become a reality if they put in some effort. It would be something legitimate, something completely legal and completely lucrative. He opted to leave out the Manganelli's and how much they got paid, but he did say they could link with Manganelli and use them for the bio calls when needed. He had to be sensitive with the subject matter and handle the subject with kid gloves because Jess sat to his right.

"I like the idea." Tavin said. "But if the world ends, why bother?"

"What if it doesn't? What if Philly was the spark and we put the fire out?" Julia speculated. "Guys, really, Philly should be a dead zone by now. In a couple days you should be running for your lives. Does it look like we should be running anywhere right now?"

"On my way home the other day, Shelby wanted me to go put out a fire. I told her no, but if we charged for that service, we coulda made bank off it. The other day, we coulda made bank off our own front lawn-sorry, Jess-and we could have been made rich off Main theater alone."

"I understand the need to help people and put out fires and save lives. But we would have to get paid. That would mean putting my life and hers and yours on the line every time we went on a call. There has to be something in it for us." Jayson said.

"But if one walked through the door-" Kelly said.

"We would kill it." Chess assured her. "Any one of us could."

"Then bill who? The restaurant?" Tavin joked. "Free meals for life or some shit, Chess?"

"I would say the United States government, the county, the state? I don't know."

"Like independent contractors." Julia pointed at him. "Exterminators, Chess."

"Not a voluntary basis."

"But if it happened in front of me, I would not walk away. As a human being, I would have to get involved." Jay said. "Morally, we would all feel obligated to do what we do."

"He knows the way it works. He knows the rules and the procedures." Jess added. "I think it's a good idea. It could save lives and fewer people would have to sit where I am right now."

"How though? Wait till they call and negotiate a fee?" Jayson asked.

"I could do it part time, maybe." Tavin offered. "I already have a fulltime job, plus I enrolled in school for fall."

"You did?" Jay asked. "To do what?"

"Put myself in debt from the looks of it." Tavin replied. "Um, not sure yet, med school eventually. It's a long way off."

Kelly shook her head. "What if something happened to you?"

"We would take care of you." Julia told her.

"I would take care of him." Jay said. "We all would."

"Will you train me?" Jess asked.

"No." Chess replied. "But you could work for us. You could take calls and keep that stuff straight, like office stuff and she could too."

"Let's not get too far ahead." Jody cautioned them. "Can we wait and see what happens in a few days? I mean, this is all speculation right now."

The girl who took the order for the drinks brought them to the table with the waitress. She unloaded all the glasses as Jay tried not to look too uncomfortable in his seat. The table sat quietly and staring at the waitress as she held up her pen and pad.

"I'm Stef. I'll be your waitress tonight. Have you all-" Her eyes scanned the round table full of bodies and she stumbled over her words. "Um, decided what you wanna eat, order?" She shifted nervously on her feet and couldn't decide which person to look at first. "So, uh, hi. How are you guys doing?" She asked.

"Good." Jess answered.

She smiled. "Table's still intact, I see." She paused, loosening up. 

"I'd like the chicken Alfredo." Jess said, starting the order for the table. Jess didn't care who took the order. She was hungry. She smiled and continued to write as she moved around the table.

"Jayce, what would you like?" Stef asked.

"Uh, the usual."

"Chicken parm it is." She said as the menus started rotating the table toward her. She turned and walked away.

"Ya alright, Jay?" Julia asked. "I think your color drained out of you."

"Yeah, I am." He replied.

Julia leaned to him. "It's been a year. It's ok. I'm over it."

Jay didn't seem to believe that statement. Julia had always been jealous of Stef.

"I didn't know she worked here." Chess said, picking up the bread from the basket.

"Maybe we could train her." Julia suggested, picking up her glass of iced tea. She took a sip and got the most awkward stares. "To exterminate." They all loosened up a bit and relaxed in their seats. "What did you think I meant?" She laughed. "Get your minds out of the gutter."

"I didn't know she worked here." Chess repeated.

"Who is she?" Jess asked. "Remind me, because I don't recognize her."

"Jay's ex." Chess said quietly.

"Do you think she's single?" Jody asked as he watched the lovely and well put together Stef wander the restaurant as she worked. "I'm gonna find out."

The conversation drifted to the end of the world again and when Stef finally made her way to the table with their meals, Julia spoke up. Whether to be a bitch or rock the boat or get the digits for Jody, she wasn't sure. "Stef, are you single?"

"Sure am." She answered, setting the plate in front of Jesslyn. "Are you interested?" She asked and Julia tried to gauge that response, putting it somewhere between sarcasm and truth.

"Maybe." She answered, placing her hand over Jay's beneath the table. Jay looked devastated and wondered whether she was going to start a fight or try get a rise out of her.

Stef placed another plate on the table and then another and she thought before she spoke. "I heard a lot of good things about you."

"So have I. I hear we are very-" She glanced at Jay. "Is similar a good word, my Jay?"

Stef set her spaghetti in front of her and then moved onto Jay's chicken parm. "He's told me." Stef said when she finished up placing the plates in front of everyone. "We are very similar."

Julia left Jay's hand go and slid it up his thigh. She felt him hard through his pants and Julia rose from her seat. "A word, then. If you don't mind, I mean. It is kinda busy in here."

"I can spare a minute." Stef smiled, hands on her hips, perky C cups at attention.

They watched as Julia walked away with Stef and then head back toward the rest rooms.

"Uh, what the hell is she doing?" Jody asked.

"Which one?" Jay groaned as he cut into his chicken parm. "Oh, they are equally insane." Jay commented, cutting into the chicken parm.

"Equally fuckin entertaining." Tavin said as he put a fork full of pasta in his mouth. "Oh, Jayson. Jayson, Jayson, Jayson...brother."

Jay ate quietly and Julia returned several minutes later. "Well," She said picking up her silverware.

"Well?" Jody asked.

Julia sliced up a meat ball and put a bite in her mouth. She held up her palm and Jody saw numbers written with a little heart above the digits. She glanced at Jay who ate quietly. "Jayson, would you like me to give this number to Jody before or after we fuck her?"

"Are you fuckin with me, Keller?"

"Would you like me to fuck with you, Keller?" She grinned. She ate another bite of her meatball and then waited a moment. "Going once."

"Jayson." Tavin said. "I think she's serious."

"No this is some awful test and she's testing me. Lord, she's testing me."

Julia leaned to his ear, cupping her hand over it and she whispered. "Bomb fucking pussy, Jayson."

"Times two." He told her. "Is this one of those same page things?"

"Same page." She held her hand out to him. "Going twice."

"Jesus, Ok." He took her hand and held onto it. "You better not be joking either."

Through the meal, none of them knew whether she was joking or serious. Conversation lingered on other subjects, but it was not the subject they all wished to discuss. Stef brought the bill and left it in front of Chess. He paid the bill and tip in cash and stood up, taking Jess by her arm.

"Come on, mama, let's get you home."

Never a dull moment with Julia Morgan-Keller. Was she hyphenating that name of hers? Would she care what anyone called her? Did it matter? No one seemed put off by her behavior at dinner and Chess swore the woman would never change. As they dispersed through the house, Julia held him back. The business of Mr Gilligan needed to be taken care of. Jayson would be sitting this one out. He said he'd call for her when he was ready. Motel 6, room 12.

Chess left Jess go shower and change. He called and spoke with Ben. He needed to hear the man's voice on occasion. He was interested in where Ben was and what Ben was doing.

"Dropping bodies." He said. He sounded tired and he sounded down, depressed, tired. "I am all of those things." Ben admitted.

"When are you coming home?" Chess asked him. Ben was still in the middle of the fucking country. Domestic dead bodies were dropped.

"A couple days hopefully." Ben responded and his voice mirrored his attitude. He lowered his voice. "I miss you."

"Yeah, me too. But you said-"

"I know what I said and what you said."

"I can be home when you get there. Need some time?"

"I do." He answered.

"Hey, let me know when you're on you're way. I'll take care of everything like usual. Would you like that?" He asked.

Ben sighed loudly through the phone. "I'd more than like that, Chess."

"Be safe." He said before he disconnected.

He called Cook next, danced around the Shelby conversation because he didn't want to talk about Shelby Reagan. Cook was clear on where he stood with her. Though Cook reminded him she wasn't the area's liaison anymore and he had no choice but to defer to her. Cook took the transfer of sorts by choice, had asked for it and obtained it after she trained Shelby to do her job. In fact she was training another one to do the very same thing and there were more behind that. "Julia." Cook stated. "Is she interested in this at all yet? Chess, she can be so useful."

"No, not why I called. I have an idea." He launched into the same spiel for Cook that he gave the others at dinner time. "Like independent contractors. What do you think? Think that's something that would work out?"

"Mmm, possibly." She replied, sounding a bit unsure. "If we were overrun. Want me to ask around? You know people. Why you calling me?"

"I don't know. I thought I wanted to say hi."

"You got a girl pregnant while we were dating, Chess. It's a situation that calls for not speaking."

"Why do you answer the phone, Cook?"

She growled at him. "Bye, Morgan."

One for two wasn't bad. If Cook was closer to home, then it would have been two for two. Not like he needed either one of them, considering Jess was falling in love again. Being home, back in his old room and back in bed every night making love to his pregnant non-girlfriend, was alright. He loved the girl 100%, but he thought the grief might have been playing a part and the hope that one day he'd be more than just daddy.

There were too many temptations walking the earth to be strapped down to one specific girl. He gave her the speech again, bringing up the fact that she shouldn't develop any feelings or she'd get hurt. The fact that he was into men as well as women should have her closing her legs, but Jess was an odd one. Hormones or hope or just lingering feelings or new feelings. He had to shut up while he made love to her. But she was so soft and warm and filled in around the edges. Thick in all the right places and her boobs were perfect. The bump didn't bother him in the least, considering he'd caused it. If it wasn't for the bump, he wouldn't be spending any time between those legs. She wouldn't be part of his day, but she'd definitely be part of his life.

He debated what he wanted to do first. Smoke a joint or head upstairs. He debated not going upstairs at all, but the stunt that Julia pulled at O'Flannery's had his brain going in a horizontal direction. There were days that he missed his fucking wife. The one that picked up waitresses like Stef at a restaurant. He pushed thoughts of girls and boys and the family business out of his head and went upstairs to his baby mama. He made her comfortable and he made sure she had what she needed, if anything at all.

"Thanks for dinner." She said as she lay on his bed and rubbed her belly. "And thanks for today and everything you have done, Chess. I am sorry."

"Sorry about what?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with her. He placed his hand over the belly and felt around till he found her. That soothing melody that Lay had going on was literally music to his ears.

"Well, you're doing so much more than being here for Layla. All of it, the funeral home and-"

"I want to."

Jess had no one. Louann had dissolved any relations with her own family and any relations with Jess's dad's family. It had been the two of them the entire time he knew her. Louann never saw anyone that Chess or Jess knew of. There was never anyone outside the two of them.

"Sandy found the paperwork for the house and all the insurance stuff. So it won't be long that I will be here in the house."

"Where you going?"

"Home, Chess. Across the street." She teared up again. "I'll have to get a job and I will have to-there's a lot I need to do for me and her. I don't know how I will be able to work and go to school and take care of her and everything else. Sandy said the house is paid for though. Once the insurance goes through."

"Do not worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"No, it's not your responsibility."

"I will take care of you and Layla. Why don't you believe me?"

"What if you got some stranger pregnant? Would you say the same thing?"

"I wouldn't get a stranger pregnant because I use condoms. I would have with you, but you said-"

She started crying again. "I'm sorry, but you were saying all those things and I just wanted it."

"Coulda had it anyway. Just saying. The difference of five damn minutes to walk across the street."

"Coulda prepared."

"How was I supposed to know that we would-"

"What else were we gonna do in a hotel room, Chess? Play poker?"

"Well, that's true." He smiled. "We could have though. I always have cards." He laughed. If she only knew the real reason he had that room...and that was the difference between his wife and every other damn girl on the planet. He could tell her anything and tell the rest half truths. He wasn't there to fuck Jess. His work was already done at the hotel. He had forgotten his shaving kit in the room and they went back for it. One thing led to another and six months later there they sat with a baby bump.

"You're being so sweet to me."

"I love you, mama."

"I love you, daddy."

"You know I love when you call me daddy." He said and then realized how gross it was, considering what they were about to do to her real daddy. He wondered for a minute whether Jess would want that. Would she mind if he and Julia went to Motel 6, room 12 and blasted daddy to hell after cutting off his dick? Would she be able to handle that? Hearing the idea and hearing the way it went down and be able to live with it or was it just him and Jules? Jay had already opted out of the ordeal and with good reason. We don't kill the living, but we kill the living that wrong us and our family. It all happened for a reason. Some could live with it and some couldn't. He and Julia both agreed years ago that they would kill Jeff Gilligan. It was only a matter of time. He happened to walk in and offer up the time and place.

Chess pulled out his cell phone. "Say cheese." He took a picture of her and her bump. She laughed. He hit the recorder, "Say daddy." He said.

"Daddy." She smiled. "Daddy." She repeated. Chess turned off the recorder and then showed her the picture. "Cutie." He said, kissing her forehead. "Been a long day, bay girl. Get some rest."

"Chess." She sighed, holding his hand. "Really, thanks."

"Thank me later, mommy."

Chess tossed her the bag he pulled out of the crawlspace. She knew what was inside and went to change clothes. All black everything, head to toe and she left off the mask, which she thought was overboard. They weren't pulling off a heist, only visiting daddy. She knew not to question it, just go with the flow. She had a feeling he had done this before. Motel 6 was on a main road near the highway entrance. He was quiet the entire ride and she figured she would follow his lead since he didn't explain the way this would go down. She had experience killing living and dead, but was not murder for hire.

"You wanna change your mind?" He asked half way there.

"No." Julia answered honestly although her body was tensed and she was nervous.

From the looks of the man she had seen at the funeral home, she didn't feel threatened. She wondered if he had anyone with him? She put that thought out of her mind as Chess parked blocks away from the place. He had taken back roads, had avoided highways and main streets. He rode them through the burbs and she figured that it had to happen that way. Julia would have done this completely different, but he had his own way. She tucked all her hair underneath the cap he gave her and when they got out of the truck, he pulled her mask down over her face. Dark...she never thought they'd get to this motel. She had no idea she'd be taking a walk this long and from where they'd parked, it didn't look that far away.

"It's about 100 degrees." She muttered as she squirmed in her all black head to toe outfit and her woolen hat/mask. She felt so bulky and uncomfortable.

"AC in the room." He reminded her as they approached the motel from the rear of the building. He guided her where he wanted her and when necessary, put his hands on her to move her along or keep her out of the light. The motel was a flat one story building with rooms lined up the length of the place. At that hour of the night, the parking lot had no people only vehicles. He left her in the lot by the cars and he went to the door and knocked. He heard movement in the room, one body. He wouldn't open the door. Chess stood to the side when he asked who was there. He hit play on his cell and Julia could hear Jess's voice say, "Daddy."

"Jesslyn," The man's voice said behind the door. Chess hit play again.

"Daddy,"

Chess heard the door knob turning and when the door opened only slightly, Chess went in and had him on the carpeted floor and restrained before Julia even got to the door. Julia hustled across the lot and in the door at that point, shutting it behind her. She didn't move as Chess flipped the man and stuffed clothing in his mouth. She heard a snap, then another. Two very quick and purposeful movements that broke each arm as the man howled through the cloth in his mouth. It was at that moment Julia believed maybe she should hve sat this out. That was harsh all by itself. But Chess took it a step further and with the stomp of a boot, he broke each of the man's legs, completely disabling him. Chess lifted him to his feet and laid him out on the bed. The arms and legs angled out of body alignment and she felt like she would vomit. She could sense the pain coming off this guy. She could feel the agony and internalized it and almost thought he had suffered enough.

From his hip he pulled a knife and he handed it off to her, placing it in a black glove that she wore on her hand. He waited. She had done this alone before, but never with an audience. There was usually more fear involved and usually more hate and anger and self preservation behind removal of the male anatomy. He didn't say a word and neither did she. She looked at the knife in her hand and then to the man on the bed and she nearly turned and left till she reminded herself why she was there. The bone breaking had affected her and she hadn't expected it. He waited for her to move and he gave her a look that was more annoyed than anything else. That look, she didn't need words for. Chess pulled his weapon and aimed it over the man who stared at the gun and whimpered and cried and mumbled through the cloth in his mouth.

Julia moved at that point, gathering her composure, turning off the emotion, the sobriety, the guilt. She stood at the end of the bed, reached her hand forward and into the slit on the front of this man's pajama bottoms. She held the small and flaccid dick in her left hand and with a Swift and purposeful motion, she made the knife a part of her hand and removed the several inches that had more than once violated her Jess. Blood accumulated on his pajamas, thick and red and it pooled beneath him on the bedding . She kept the severed appendage in her hand as Chess stepped forward with the gun extended toward his head.

"I am the only man she calls daddy."

A little over the top, Morgan. Julia laughed inside, but he was being sincere and was rubbing that in his bloody wound. Chess pulled the trigger and the bullet fired soft and quiet through a silencer. She watched as his head exploded onto the mattress. Ugh, how many heads will I have to watch explode in my lifetime? I should have kept a body count. Julia pulled the cloth from his mouth and his mouth hung open and his eyes were open and lifeless. Blood oozed everywhere and splattered everywhere. They'd created quite a mess. Julia saw the man's mouth agape and felt the squishy and soft severed dick in her palm. She moved to the side of the bed and she stuffed it inside his mouth. It fit rather nicely in his oral cavity.

She heard him groan audibly over the bed, turning at that moment away from the vision of a dick stuffed and curled in a man's mouth. Just when he thought he'd seen it all, and he'd seen some nasty shit in his time, Julia added to it.

Julia waited for him to move first. Could they leave? Were they finished? Was there more involved in this? He noticed she watched him and he motioned to the door. He removed the knife from her and put it back on him. They left the same way they arrived and slipped through the dark to where he'd hidden the truck off the street. They stood a few feet from the vehicle and Chess stripped off his clothes and gloves and accessories and placed them in a bag. He deposited the weapons in a separate bag altogether. He had on a light tee and shorts underneath. "Julia, get undressed." He said, feeling the heat cool him off as he was sweating bullets in the heavy black wardrobe. "Put the clothes in the bag, Julia." He said  as he dropped the weapon bag in the truck bed. Julia dropped her gloves in first and then her hat. She unbuttoned her little black button up shirt and then undid her pants and she stood there unsure as she unlaced her shoes and kicked them off into the bag he held. He dropped her flip flops on the ground as she peeled off her socks and dropped them in the bag.

"Jules, the clothes." He urged, looking around them. No one in sight, but he wanted to get out of there. "Did you wear clothes under your clothes?" He asked her point blank, sliding the button down shirt aside. "You didn't." He stated as he saw a glimpse of the red lacey bra.

"You got a go bag or something?"

"Took em out because of the funeral. Normally I do." He whispered, pulling his tee off. He waited, holding it in his hands as she reluctantly removed the black shirt and slid the black pants over her hips. She set them in the bag for the clothes and then reached for the tee shirt.

"I didn't know, Chess. I don't do this in my spare time."

"You're in her underwear." He mentioned as he zipped up the bag and dropped it over the side of the truck. Little red, lacey bra and matching panty set from Vicky's. "She never wore it."

"Why?" Julia asked.

"Ugh, she refused to put it on. She was mad about Jess and she bought it and she would set it out and get my hopes up. She liked to mess with my head too."

"Awe, that's cute, Chess. Level one though."

"She hadn't reached the expert levels like you have."

"Too nice." Julia remarked.

"Not enough time." He answered.

"I'm sorry. I know you miss her."

"She would not understand this."

"I don't understand this either, but I participate."

"Why?"

"Why do you?" She responded simply. She climbed in the passenger side of the truck and she belted herself in. Chess joined her, starting the truck and driving off slowly, pulling into the street like they had never pulled off of it to commit mutilation and murder. "Only thing that makes me feel alive, Chess."

"I hear ya."

The drive to Shade's Lake was a long one. Chess took the scenic route, then parked and he deposited the weapons from the kill into the lake. She would have walked along with him, but considering her stage of dress she held off. Back in the truck, they were home within minutes.

"I wanna drink, Chess."

"Me too." He said, pointing to the glove compartment. Julia pulled the lever and dropped the glove compartment open. A small bottle was quite visible. She opened it and took a long drink before handing it off to him.

"You, uh, wasted 15 grand."

"I have more money, honey." He smiled. He took a long drink himself and handed the bottle back to her.

"I'm sure you do, daddy." She teased him as she unhooked her seatbelt and sat herself more comfortable on the seat. "I have called you daddy before."

"Yeah, but Jess means it different."

"In the context of baby daddy, yes. If she even figured out you're getting a little thrill from it, she'd be all skeeved out."

"Yeah." He agreed. "So, Stef, Julia..."

"What about her?"

"What is the plan there?"

"I'm gonna make the girl wish she never gave me her phone number."

"Oh,"

"She's a cutie huh?"

"Yep. Can you handle her?"

Julia laughed. "Oh, Chess." She laughed and took another drink. "Know what emotion is stronger than love? And hate?"

"Oh, a tough one? Asking the hard questions tonight?"

"Starts with a j." She hinted. She took a final drink, already feeling the whiskey in her system, and she passed the bottle back to him. "Any idea?" She smiled as she extended her legs down over the plush leather seat. "We've all been there. Makes people do crazy things sometimes."

"Just tell me."

"Jealousy, daddy." She reached for the door handle and she left herself out of his truck.